WTO Talks on Fisheries Inch Towards Middle Ground	WTO Members signalled a slight narrowing of their differences on fisheries subsidies during meetings of the Negotiating Group on Rules from 12-16 June. The debate focused on key questions such as which kinds of grants contribute to overcapacity and overfishing and how to provide special and differential treatment for developing countries. While several sources deemed the talks "constructive," broad disagreement remains, particularly over subsidies that directly lower the costs of fishing. more
Conservationists Hold Whalers At Bay	Although pro-whaling countries were able to get a declaration approved calling the international moratorium on whaling "no longer necessary", pro-moratorium countries held the day on all substantive issues at the 58th annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting on 16-20 June. During the meeting, held in St. Kitts and Nevis, several proposals for substantive changes to IWC rules from Japan, Norway and Iceland -- the principal opponents of the moratorium -- failed to garner sufficient support from member countries. The pro-conservation countries, including Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, France, Germany, the US and the UK, believe that the IWC should continue to uphold the moratorium and a conservation focus (see Bridges Trade BioRes, 24 June 2005). Nonetheless, the adoption of a declaration in favour of commercial whaling for the first time in twenty years sent waves through the environmental community, leading one advocate activist to suggest the survival of whales was "hanging on by a string". more
Model Agreement Adopted For Access & Benefit-Sharing Of Plant Genetic Resources	After two years of negotiations, a model contract to facilitate access and benefit sharing of genetic resources was agreed to at the first session of the governing body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) on 12-16 June. The Standard Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA) was adopted by Parties to the Treaty as a guide for legal contracts to facilitate access and standardize benefit-sharing requirements for the 35 different crops covered by the multilateral system established by the ITPGRFA. Under the transfer agreement, companies who sell patented seeds from ITPGRFA material are required to pay 1.1 percent of their revenue to the providers of genetic resources. more
Trade Ministers Meet For Last-Ditch Shot At WTO Deal	Ministers meeting in Geneva from 29 June to 3 July will have to overcome substantial disagreements if they are to finalise an elusive WTO trade deal this year. Negotiations are likely to focus on US farm subsidies, EU agricultural tariffs and developing country industrial tariffs. WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy has long identified these as a 'triangle' of issues on which more movement is needed if a breakthrough is to be achieved. On 30 June, he suggested that the high-level meeting was likely the last opportunity to make key decisions necessary for the Doha Round trade talks to be finalised by the year-end target. more

In Brief

EU Trade Chief Proposes New WTO Round On Energy ACP Countries Ask EU To Protect Preferences For Fish At WTO EU Novel Foods Regulation Examined at WTO UNICPOLOS Encourages Cooperation, Ecosystem Approach

Events    &   Resources
Events	3-8 July, Geneva, Switzerland: CODEX ALIMENTARIUS COMMISSION, 29TH SESSION. The Commission was created to develop food standards, guidelines and related texts such as codes of practice under the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme. The main purposes of this programme are protecting health of the consumers and ensuring fair trade practices in the food trade, and promoting coordination of all food standards work undertaken by international governmental and non-governmental organizations. For further information contact the Codex Secretariat, tel: (+39 06) 5705 2287; fax: 5705 3369; email: codex@fao.org
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Resources	INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS: DESIGNING REGIMES TO SUPPORT PLANT BREEDING IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. By Rob Tripp, Derek Eaton and Niels Louwaars. (World Bank, June 2006). According to this report, plant breeding is important for food security, the ability of agriculture to develop new plant varieties that are sustainable and are able to cope with environmental stresses and the provision of productive options for commercial farming can lead to wider economic development. This report attempts to determine the degree to which stronger Intellectual Property Rights in plant breeding can help stimulate these industries and whether the IPR systems for plant varieties that have been developed in industrialised countries can contribute to development objectives. The report warns against intellectual property rights in agriculture becoming primarily a trade issue instead of a research and development issue aimed at increasing innovation in developing countries.
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ISSN 1682-0843